About the Community Boutique & Café, an inclusive gathering place on 12th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Tomorrow marks the soft opening of The Community Boutique & Café, a community-driven market at 515 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The founders are Soudavone Khamvongsa (above left) and Settareh Barakhshan.

Here's their mission via a recent Instagram post: 

The Community Boutique is a unique retail and cafe space designed to uplift our community, local makers, and small businesses. Every visit offers a warm, personal shopping experience where you can connect with the stories behind your favorite handcrafted items. We're founded by two women of color, a Lao Refugee and an Iranian Immigrant. 

Our goal is to create an inclusive and vibrant gathering place for our community to connect, shop local, and enjoy a cup of tea and coffee in our cafe like you're meeting old friends. 

The market will carry handmade goods including soaps, candles, and jewelry.

Here's more about the soft launch opening tomorrow (Friday) evening...

 

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More stabilization work today at the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Stabilization efforts will be taking place today at the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center ... which means Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C will be closed to through traffic. 

Reps for Q Impact Solutions, which led a presentation about the future of P.S. 64 last month, shared this info:

Contractors plan to be on-site to make immediate repairs at the southeast façade along the Ninth Street frontage of the building. This stabilization/make-safe work will include the infill of an open gap in the terracotta coping and performing repairs to a step-crack where the sloped coping units meet the brick party wall adjacent to the neighboring property. 

We expect the duration of this repair work to last one day. The work will require the use of a boom lift positioned on the street, similar to what was used during the recent façade investigation work in September. Street closure will be necessary for a portion of the day. 

Posted notices state the crane work will occur from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

According to public records, 605 East 9th Community Holdings LLC bought the property from longtime owner Gregg Singer for $57 million in a transaction filed on Jan. 9. 

Discussions are underway to determine the building's future use and the extent to which it will serve the community.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Rehabilitation of the former P.S. 64 could take 4 to 6 years, cost over $100 million

Renovations underway at the former Boulton & Watt

Plywood arrived this week outside the former Boulton & Watt space on the NW corner of Houston and Avenue A, marking the start of renovations here. 

The bar-restaurant closed in July after 11-plus years, and this is the first activity that we recall at the space (aside from someone living in the now-removed side patio). 

Owners Paradise Hospitality (Mister Paradise, Wiggle Room, Pretty Ricky's) announced "some exciting news about a new project in this space" at the time of the closing. They haven't disclosed anything further. 

If you miss B&W, you can always plan for a meal while arriving or departing from JFK's Terminal 4 (Gate A3).

EVG Etc.: Election Day the day after

Sunrise from 3rd and A today

• Where Donald Trump's policies are likely to affect New Yorkers (Gothamist)

• How Trump's mass deportations and tariffs would impact NYC's economy (The City) 

• Mayor Adams vows to fight for rights of New Yorkers after Trump election victory (ABC 7) 

• Adams was way off the political radar last night (Politico) 

• How your NYC neighbors voted in the election (The City) 

• NYC voters approve most local ballot measures (CBS News) ... Voters approved four of the mayor's five ballot proposals in a blow to City Council (Politico) 

• NYCHA tenants, including at the Riis Houses on Avenue D, sue the city, saying the agency does not disclose hazards such as lead and rats (Gothamist) 

• Village Preservation study finds high housing growth policies like "City of Yes" tend to make neighborhoods more white (PDF here)

• ICYMI: SNL spoofs EV resident and Assembly Member Harvey Epstein (City & State ... NBC)

• A curbside dining farewell tour (The New Yorker) 

• Book Club Bar turns 5 on Saturday (Official site... previously on EVG) 

• How Frank Kabatas, the owner of East Village Pizza, spends his Sundays (The New York Times)

• East Village well-represented in the best-coffee-in-NYC listicle (Eater) 

• A listicle of the East Village's best restaurants (The Infatuation) 

• Elbow Bread now open on Canal and Division (The Infatuation)

• The Berlin-founded Cabin Gallery debuts on Henry Street (artnet) 

• An Insomnia film series includes "Taxi Driver" and "Fight Club" (Metrograph)

Election Night 2024

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

On an unseasonably warm evening, bars throughout the city hosted Election Night watch parties, capping what some media outlets called a "historically tumultuous and competitive election season" in a deeply divided nation. 

Here's a look around at a few East Village watering holes...

For some places, it was business as usual, such as Lydia's on First Avenue, where sports dominated the TVs.

On Second Avenue, Downtown Social had the largest turnout of any place I went (by a landslide). It was a viewing party for the New York Young Republicans. There was a long line and tight security. While I wasn't permitted inside, security allowed me to take photos from the outside.

The bars were all likely closed when, at 5:34 a.m., the Associated Press called the race, reporting that Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States.

Election Day 2024

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Find info about the ballot and your pollsite here.

B Cup Café is on the move on Avenue B

After 18 years on the SW corner of 13th Street and Avenue B, B Cup Café is moving to a new home — and just a few storefronts to the south. 

Café ownership recently announced the news in an Instagram post, citing that their landlord did not offer them a lease renewal.

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They will relocate to 204 Avenue B between 12th Street and 13th Street in the months ahead. (The photo below is courtesy of EVG reader Russell.)

No. 204 underwent a gut renovation after a June 2023 fire at B-Side, the bar in the building's retail space. (B-Side and the building's landlord parted ways in the fall of 2023; B-Side hopes to reopen at 131 Avenue C.) 

B Cup owner Guy Weizmann said they will be expanding the café's menu and have later hours with the addition of a beer-wine license. 

While he'll miss the corner space, he said he was happy to relocate nearby and "tried to do the best for the community, our customers, and our staff." 

If you're on Instagram, you can follow the B Cup account for updates.

A new East Village vintage clothing store opens, and a cat is the curator

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Eloise & Daisy, a vintage and second-hand shop, recently debuted at 506 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Eloise (pictured above) is the proprietor, and Daisy the cat is the lead curator...

There's a mix of high-end clothes and accessories here, with $5 and $10 bins plus a rack of $20 and under stuff...

Eloise & Daisy is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with an 8 p.m. close on Saturdays.

You can find them on Instagram here.

Coming attractions: Mrs. Green on 14th Street

ICYMI: A new business called Mrs. Green is coming soon to 328 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Thanks to Pinch for these photos.)

According to the homemade signage, the business will offer healthy fare like salads, juice, smoothies, etc. (Since these photos, management has added a banner to the plywood.)

The landlord eventually divided this storefront in two long after the last tenant, Artichoke Basille's Pizza, relocated across the street in June 2017. In the summer of 2022, the bubble tea shop Pila de Boba opened in the other space. 

About a Keith Haring poster exhibition to benefit Le Petit Versailles on 2nd Street

Details via the EVG inbox... 

Allied Productions, Inc. and Le Petit Versailles Community Garden are proud to host a special exhibition featuring four rare posters by iconic artist Keith Haring at ELKEL, the menswear boutique in the same building where Haring once lived during the peak of the Downtown East Village art boom in the 1980s.

The posters, generously donated by Sur Rodney (Sur) formerly of Gracie Mansion Gallery, will be available for purchase during the exhibition, with proceeds directly benefiting Allied Productions, Inc. and the revitalization of their venue, Le Petit Versailles, the community garden on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

Reception: Thursday, Nov. 7, from 5-8 p.m. 

Nov. 8-10 from noon-6 p.m. 

ELKEL, 325 Broome St., between Chrystie and the Bowery 

More details here.

The former Houston Village Farm is for rent

Officially closing the book on Houston Village Farm. 

For rent signs arrived on the storefront on Thursday here on the SW corner of First Avenue and Fourth Street. This was after the business didn't open for several weeks, and there was no notice to patrons. 

This was Houston Village Farm's second iteration ... the previous one closed in the spring of 2022 due to little business and high rent. New owners took over the space in 2022, but the store name remained the same. 

No sign of the listing just yet at the Gavious Realty site.

Halloween night with Pretty Sick at Bowery Ballroom

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Sabrina Fuentes brought a Pretty Sick show to Bowery Ballroom on Halloween night. 

This was a one-off show for Pretty Sick, which Fuentes founded in 2013 at age 13. The band, which includes Ava Kaufman (drums) and Ben Arauz (guitar), released a new EP, the more electronic Streetwise, this past summer. 

We caught up with Fuentes, her bandmates and friends backstage...

Then we went out to watch a frenzied crowd enjoy Pretty Sick in a sold-out Bowery Ballroom...

Keep tabs on the band via Instagram.

Mixed messages about the future of 7-Eleven on Avenue A

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Late last week, we received reader reports that the 7-Eleven was closing this coming week on the SE corner of Avenue A and 11th Street — the information coming from a manager. 

The closing wouldn't come as a complete shock, as Seven & I Holdings, the chain's Japan-based parent company, revealed in an earnings report last month that it would close more than 400 "underperforming" stores, CNN reported. The company did not provide a list of store locations. 

While we don't know if this outpost underperforms, two other 7-Elevens in the East Village — St. Mark's Place and 14th Street — have closed since 2013. 

We stopped by on Saturday, and as the readers told us, the store is pretty empty — looking ready to shutter.

However, the employees on duty said they were NOT closing.

The employees, who preferred not to give their names, consented to photos. They said a pipe burst in the ceiling and they had a flood, which is why everything is in trashbags and boxes.

One of the employees said that the rent, which was $16,000 (the store opened in October 2013), was now $40,000. 

He also said that people come in and steal all day, every day. He said, "Mothers steal, kids steal. They steal Red Bulls, they steal hot food. They steal cups, candy, and anything they can get their hands on. The police do nothing. Nothing. They don't care. And if they do come and arrest someone, he's out later that day and back here stealing again. Some guys they steal in here, four, five times a day." 

While I was here, two people asked if the store was closing. 

There was a lot of pushback from local residents before this outpost opened in 2013, including rallies and chalking campaigns via the No 7-Eleven group (which had at least one celebrity endorser).

325 E. 14th St., sells, and farewell to the Crocodile Lounge sidewalk awning

After more than a year on the sales market, 325 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue has a new owner. 

In a transaction posted early last month, an LLC connected to The Sabet Group bought the four-story building for $3.3 million, down from its initial $5.5 million ask. 

For generations, a family has owned the building known as The James McCreery House. Daytonian in Manhattan has some history here. 

The retail space has been restaurants going back many years, including Il Faro and, in the 1990s, Manila Garden. And in recent years, the place was home to Crocodile Lounge, which never reopened after the COVID shutdown in March 2020. 

The green awning (it changed color in 2016) remained up, however... providing some hope to its fans (and the free 10-inch pizza served with every drink) would return. 

Last week, workers hauled off the awning... (thanks for the tip, Pinch!)

We never set foot in the place, but we know it had its fans. The free pizza, skee ball, and photo booth seemed to draw a solid happy hour crowd.

Above photo from April 2023 by Steven

Stuffed closes, and the owners promise 'a brand new, never seen before' ice cream concept

Photos by Steven

Stuffed Ice Cream closed on Oct. 27 at 139 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

The shop arrived in 2017 and spawned a second location in Bensonhurst. 

However, ownership has plans for the space...

In a closure notice for patrons, there's news of a new concept called Surprise Scoop opening next month. It will be "a brand new, never seen before FUN & EXCITING ice cream concept."

A bad sign at the Sunflower East Village on 2nd Street

Last week, we noted that Sunflower East Village had closed for a "restructure" after four-plus months in business at 88 Second Ave. at Fifth Street. 

As the week went on, EVG reader Kevin Frech pointed out that the landlord posted a Notice of Petition of Non-Payment on the cafe.

The legal notice states that the tenant owes nearly $177,000 back rent. Perhaps an agreement can be reached between the two sides, but that is a lot of avocado toast. 

This sister cafe to the one on Third Avenue in Gramercy Park opened in May with a brunch-friendly menu, though they were not open in the evenings. 

Sunflower is owned and operated by the same folks as the previous tenant here, Eros, the Greek restaurant that quietly closed in August 2022. Eros took over for their diner concept, The Kitchen Sink, in September 2021.

Bad Hombre remains closed on 2nd Avenue

Bad Hombre remains closed at 29 Second Ave. between First Street and Second Street. 

The restaurant, described as "coastal Mexican-inspired," announced closing for "maintenance" starting Oct. 1...

 

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A few readers have asked about its status. (There is any temp closing notice on the front door.) We haven't seen much activity in the space of late... (the business is still open according to Google, but it was dark when we passed by Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights)...

Bad Hombre opened late last year ... pivoting from Amigo, a collaboration opening in October 2020 between chef Ruben Rodriguez of Nai Tapas at 84 Second Ave. and Juan “Billy” Acosta, whose family runs the much-ballyhooed Carnitas El Momo in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Nai Tapas remains in service, but Kōbo by Nai on Avenue A and Emilia by Nai on First Avenue have closed in the past two years.